squirtdad

Not that I have any builds in the horizon, but alway be good to be up on these things

I am a fan of modern gear on vintage frames and like using a matching group as it make the build easier and the look more cohesive.

2 years ago the place to go was the deals from UK bike shops, but that is gone now

I have looked at a few sites and see lots of components, but few groups

Is there a good go to for buying groups?

UKFan4Sure

Honestly? Buy an entire bike and strip it. Sell the frame. Sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's been the most reasonable way for me as of late.

bikeaddiction1

The frustrating thing is that those deals for Shimano/Sram components still exist if you don't live in North America. Just sign on to chainreactioncycles.com and put your location as a European country and you will see. The Japanese manufacturers are gouging the NA market. If you talk to your LBS they can not match the prices in Europe. I am really hoping some of the up and coming drive train manufacturers continue to improve and give Shimano and SRAM a real run for the money.

BFisher

This site has some: https://www.texascyclesport.com/

I have no experience with them, just kept them on my radar as I was looking at options a while back.

Andy_K 

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I like triples, so that pretty much rules out nearly all current groupsets (Shimano, Microshift, and Gevenalle are options, I suppose), but I also want silver components so most current groups were already ruled out anyway.

What I typically do instead is piece things together based on modern, but not the latest, stuff on eBay. If you're patient, you can put together a nice 10-speed group cheaper than you'd have gotten from a UK discounter a few years ago. If you are willing to spend lots of money you can get nearly anything you want in NOS condition. Sometimes, if you're just lucky, you can even get NOS cheap. Here's what I managed for my Stella:






(No pics of these Potenza brakes in the box, but they were bought new from Universal Cycles.)


(Took my cleanest shifters off of another bike.)

All of that, plus a new 10-speed chain set me back $364.

BFisher

Just like above, when I decided to go through with a full upgrade to my Puch, I sourced some mostly Ultegra 6500 parts, Dura-Ace 9 speed downtube shifters and such from eBay. Cassette and chain came from Universal. Everything is either new, or in excellent shape. Even the chainrings on the 6503 crank are in great shape. Cost me under $350 not including wheels, and its the shiny silver I wanted to boot.

jetboy 

yeah last time i bought a lightly used bike and stripped it... but sold the frame on to someone on bikeforums so it was a win..

kingston 

Ebay. Silver centaur is one of the few modern groups I would put on a vintage frame. Even then I might get a different silver chainset. I don't buy new shimano anything anymore since they banned retail imports to the US.

nomadmax 

Chain Reaction
Wiggle
Pro Bike Kit

for Campy anyway.

lostronin

Merlin Cycles for Shimano

phtomita

I got parts of my 105 R7000 silver directly from Japan (or amazon.co.jp) retail brifters, fd clamp-on and rd gs - not cheap for shipping/handling, but overall was cheaper than buying around here.
The crankset (160mm) I chose from a Taiwan eBay seller (oem) that was the cheapest (unfortunately the days of no tax on eBay are long gone). I wasn't able to get the crankset from amz.co.jp because they would not ship overseas and it was a bit expensive than from eBay.
The brake calipers I am using the 5800 I have in my bin. amz.co.jp had it like 75 bucks, but again not to ship overseas.
The cassette and chain I got from jenson usa (still no tax + free shipping, also amz.co.jp would not ship overseas).
My silver group set cost me 460 bucks without the calipers.

gomango

I'd try Velomine.

Price match and a two day ship to MSP.

Good sales if you catch it right.

Warranty is also nice.

plonz 

Wow, great question. It’s hard to even find a Shimano group available in the US let alone get a great deal. Just a couple of years ago I paid $318 with free shipping and no tax for my brand new 11 spd 105 complete group. Doesn’t appear to be anything like that in the marketplace today.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and the same phenomenon will happen to all the vintage bikes that are selling dirt cheap right now.

Darth Lefty 

The UK price for Campagnolo ergo's still can't be beat, making Shimergo a great option

JaccoW

I never knew US prices were so high for parts like this. Does this have anything to do with Trump's import taxes on bicycle parts or is there more of a closed market approach going on here?

Whit51 

I agree with post#5 / Andy K. I’ve pieced 9 And 10 speed Ultegra and Dura Ace groups together from swaps, eBay and FB Marketplace. Amazing how many people get rid of these great groups because there’s something newer out there. This stuff is very durable and I think Shimano and Campy 9 speed not only work well but looks much better that new groups, and for a fraction of the price.

RobbieTunes

+1, with an 11sp UT compact crankset, silver. Just finished one with exactly that.

I must have forgotten about the Shimano thing...

Lately, it's a mix. 6800, 8000, even some 7000 for the most part. There is a flexibility to the mix, especially cranksets. DA9000 is often cheap if you have patience, and worth it. I have 2 DA9000 groups, with wheels, and they will be around a long time.

7900 remains blatantly overpriced. Other Shimano 10sp stuff is pretty cheap and mixes well. The 10sp-only wheels are often a ridiculous bargain, and cassettes are still out there.

The best bang for the buck lately is 5700 piecemeal.
​​​​​
My 2 cents. Probably not worth that.

gomango

Right on.

I tried to sell a very nice set of Ultegra/Velocity Aerohead wheels last cross season with a 13-29 for next to nothing.

Red anodized.

No takers.

btw If I'm not careful, they could lead me into another project.

Yikes.

squirtdad

red anodized with what frame?? not that I would encourage a project

Salamandrine 

When I bought an Ultegra derailleur & shifter set about a year ago, REI had about the best price, especially if you are a member. Still cost more than what Wiggle etc used to sell them for. If starting a project from scratch, I'd consider going back to Campy since it seems to be a better deal these days, arguably. And also I've decided to forgive them for Syncro. That took some time.

For me, vintage parts on vintage frames are just fine. To me, the most notable modern parts that are a big improvement over vintage are clipless pedals. The rest of this newfangled stuff is kind of 6 of one, half dozen of the other.

noglider 

A little. It was always like this, and Trump made it a bit worse.

But this is the first I'm hearing about the UK companies not being good any more. What happened with them?

BFisher

The UK vendors are still good, but they can't sell Shimano to US customers anymore. They were undercutting US dealers, so Shimano put a stop to it.

Wileyone 

I had been searching high and low for a new set of Dura Ace 9 speed DT Shifters. The best price I found was on Amazon.ca $94 Canadian shipped. Arrived in 2 weeks from Japan with no duty charges. I don't use ebay anymore with their high shipping charges and their stupid global shipping program the same shifters through ebay would have been closer to $200 all in.

repechage

Ebay global whipping program.
not all sellers rely on that “insurance”.

i do agree though that the effort to map out the most cost effective purchasing is much more of a challenge now.

nlerner

The other day I bought a Campy group set from Chain Reaction in the UK, and it wasn’t until I received shipping info that I realized that they’re part of the Wiggle conglomerate. That’s fine with me, as I didn’t see these parts on Wiggle’s site.